Cornell University Upson Hall

Higher EducationRenovationSustainable DesignCornell UniversityIthaca, New York

Upson Hall

Cornell UniversityIthaca, NYCompleted 2017160,000 sq. ft.

Merit Award, Architecture, AIA NY, 2018LEED Platinum Projected

How can the gut renovation of a 1950’s concrete-framed building set a campus standard for energy efficiency while establishing a new, open and transparent image for an engineering school? How can a custom and high-tuned façade be made from traditional and durable materials? These were the challenges that the interdisciplinary team of LTL Architects, Perkins+Will, Thornton Tomasetti and ME Engineers addressed in the renewal of Upson Hall. The new 1’-6” façade transforms the ribbon-window modernist educational building into a contemporary, energy efficient and flexible research laboratory. 3 different terracotta profiles change from the lower floors to upper floors to accentuate shadow patterns and reflect the stratified rock of the local geology. Yellow vertical panels reference the original façade color, while white angled jambs and sills maximize daylight reflection into the interior. Larger expanses of glass are reserved for the new cantilevered public spaces at the corners, inviting the campus into the interior. In re-purposing a post-WWII building, the Upson Hall project transforms a work of international modernism into a highly tuned, site specific building, as part of the rejuvenation of the Engineering Quadrangle.